Detachable button



Dec. 23, 1952 A. DRELL r AL.

DETACHABLE BUTTON Filed June 17, 1948 BY 1 M M ATTORNEY place.

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED "STATES, PATENT OFFICE H DETACHABLE BUTTON Arthur Drell, Brooklyn, and Herbert D. Drell, Kew' Garden Hills, N. Y.

Application June 17, 1948, Serial No. 33,586

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-109) This invention relates primarily to a detachable button or a similar article or ornament. While the invention is applicable to a wide variety of detachable elements, we have hereby chosen to illustrate it in the form of a detachable ornamental button such as is particularly used on ladies suits and coats.

We shall use the word button herein as a convenient word to include any button, ornament or similar device which is to be detachably attached.

It is an object of this invention to provide an article of the character described which will remain firmly in place during use, but which can be removed simply and without undue strain when desired. It is a further object to provide an article which when in place may be held right side up, if the design be such as to require it, and which will again be held in the sameposition when reattached after removal.

Many modern buttons are made of plastics which will not sufficiently resist the action of cleaning fluids, or the temperatures involved, and many are of a size which make it diflicult to press the garment without damage to the button.

.is frequently desirable, for other reasons, to remove, replace or change the buttons on a garment, or to change other types of ornaments to conform to different costumes.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide detachable buttons comprising a socket portion which can be fastened upon the garment and a button portion having a stud which can be thrust into the socket far enough to pass a resilient catch which is relied upon to hold the button in Such buttons are removable by pulling directly outwardly along the axisv upon the button to pull it out of the socket. Such buttons possess limitations, however, which make them unsuitable on ordinary garments, in that if the spring catch is sufliciently strong to hold the stud against removal in ordinary wear, then when it is desired to remove the button it imposes an undue strain upon the garment itself.

Such form of construction possesses a further limitation that the buttons turn freely about the axis of the stud and this makes them unsuitable for use withbuttons or ornaments of an unsymmetrical character which should be placed upon the garment right side up.

, from the fabric or by an other strain normally imposed in the use of the button, but which can be readily removed by proper manipulation.

This invention is particularly suitablefor use with large ornamental buttons customarily applied which cannot be relied upon to pass through the process of cleaning and pressing. With this invention, all the buttons or ornaments may be readily removed from the garment before it is sent to the cleaner and readily replaced thereon. Further, the nature of this invention makes it possible, if it should be so desired in the styling of the garment, to use the button with the buttonhole far smaller than the button itself, so that the buttonhole may be completely concealed by the button.

It is a further object to make a button of the character describedin which the male member of the button may be inserted in a socket by a movement along its axis and then releasably held in place by a rotary or twisted movement past a catch, so that it cannot be removed by any strain along the axis until the catch is released and it has been untwisted to bring it back to the releasing position.

It is a further object to provide a device of the characteridescribed in which all of the parts except the button itself may be fabricated of stamped sheet metal. 1

It is a further object to provide a detachable button of the'character described in which the separable element which is attached to the cloth is sufliciently'firm to resist the rotary movement involved in attaching and detaching the button, but in which nevertheless that element shall be as fiat as possible consistent with secure attachment; that is, that it shall have a minimum dimension transverse to the plane of the cloth to which it is to be attached and of as small diameter as possible.

It is a further object to provide a button having a fixed degree of rotation, preferably relative to the socket so that the socket may be attached with complete reliance that buttons if they be asymmetrical will be properly placed.

It is a further object to provide a detachable button of which the socket member may be attached by machine. 7

It is a further object to provide abutton of the character described in which the separable element attached to the button shall have a minimum of dimension consistent with firm retention of the button, so that, if desired, the button may be attached through a very small buttonhole to a socket member either upon a lower layer of the garment or concealed between two different thicknesses comprising a single layer. Thus the size button used upon a garment may be changed to restyle the garment, or to conform it to different costumes without alteration of the buttonholes.

The Cushman Patents #l,298,016, 1,325,003 and 1,348,629 which tried to solve these problems have been unsuccessful, in part at least, because a, socketmember was attached to the button part. This socket member to be secure, was necessarily so large as to cause the buttonhole to gape and the cloth around the buttonhole to bunch up.

Furthermore, because the garment attached element fitted within the socket, it was relatively small and did not get a firm grip upon the garment to resist the rotary movement of attaching and detaching. This limits the efiectiveness of the locking action.

The invention accordingly comprises a device possessing the features, properties and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the device hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claim.

' For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

' Fig. l is the central section through a button embodying this invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the cup portion of the socket and of the plate portion thereof. Fig. dis an alternative construction of the plate portion. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the socket as assembled. Fig. 6 is a top plan view as shown by the arrow B in Fig. 5 of the. assembled socket partly in section and with a portion of the post in position. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan View of the same, as shown by the arrow '1 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8

is a section on the line 8 of Fig. 6, and .Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 of Fig. 6.

In the drawings the numeral it) comprises an ornamental button, to the back'of which is attached by a non-rotary connection the male element ll of the attaching device. This element ll comprises a cup-shaped member I2 having outstanding wings l3 attached to the rim; The member I2 is preferably attached to the button, as here shown by a square nail l5 which is'forced into the pillar l4 within the button. This nail I5 attaches the member 12 to the pillar i i and holds it against rotation. To this end the member i2 is provided with a central square opening through which a square portion of the nail i5 passes. The nail may have a smaller square end to provide a shoulder on which the member i2 may press to be riveted over, or the'opening in member l2 may be of a size to receive the square body of the nail l5, and the latter may be forced into the button far enough to cause a head'lii on the nailto engage the member. The nail i5 may have transverse grooves or' projections or other irregularities to enable it to be gripped firmly by the button material. .Whether thenail is forced directly into the button or whether'it is forced into a drilled hole will depend on the material of the button. The nail is here shown with a pointed end i5a to assist in this insertion.

The socket member is provided for direct attachment to the garment and this socket member is in the form of a disc-shapedcham'ber ll formed, as shown, betweena dished member i8 and a plate member l9, spaced apart by' a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of the wings IS. The dished member [8 has a central opening 20 having the same contour as the member I2 so that the member l2 and the wings {3 may pass through it; that is, it has a central c rcular opening 21 to receive the cylindrical port1on of member i2, and outward extensions 22 to receive the wings. The lower plate l9 does not have such an opening.

With this construction, the member l2 may be inserted into the disc-shaped chamber through the opening 20 up to the point where the wings i3 rest upon the plate 19 and no further, and in this. position the member [2 may be turned withm the chamber H. Means are provided within the chamber to provide self latching catch or detent,"which may be engaged by the wings I3 to prevent them from being rotated back accidentally, yet permit it to be turned back when desired.

As here shown, the catch engages the wings resiliently so that thelatter may be rotated back to release position'when desired against the tension of the detent. This is accomplished by forming a projection 23 from the face of one of the plates, as for example,-plate 19, to cause the metal to project into the chamber in the pathway of the wings as they rotate. We prefer to provide a pair of said projections 23 extending far enough into the chamberto press against the wings as they engage it, but to permit the wings to be moved past it so that they, by reason of the resilience of the plates, may serve as a resilient detent. We also prefer to provide a second series of projections 24 projecting so far into the chamber that the wings will not move pastthem, so that they" may serve as a fixed stop'to limit the rotation of each wing after it has passed the resilient detent.

It is desirable moreover, when the member I2 is. rotated in'a direction to release itself from the detent, that the rotation be stopped at a point where the wings are opposite the extensions 22 so that the wings will not move beyond the'open ings provided for them to be again caught by the plate at the other side of the openings. The proecti'ons 2 3 may be. readily used for-this purpose also by increasing their size or circumferential length to cause them to engage the: wings-when the wings are in position for removal.

The construction described, affords a practical manner of makingthe sockets; that is, by makmg one of the plates dish-shaped, having a downwardly extending rim 25, and making the other plate of a diameter to fit within this rim. The th ckness of the chamber I! measured along the axis, may be readily fixed by cutting notches 26 ill. the free edge or" the upstanding rim of the dish-shaped member, separated by intermediate portions or tongues 2'! of greater axial length and by providing upon the plate is radially extending projections 29 of a sizeand shape to fit within the cut-out' portions above referred to. T1118 socket member may be assembled by fitting the two plates together and crimping the ends of the tongues 21 of the-rim of the dish-shaped member over the edge of the plate l9.

Any convenient means maybe provided for attaching'the socket to the garment As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5, thef'socket member is provided with peripheral openings 3 5" through which it may be sewed to the garment, andyif' desired, with additional openings such as 'a'square opening 3| at the centerthrough which various types of fastening devices may be attached.- We prefer to depress the center of the plate I9 immediately surrounding the opening 3| to give freedom to whatever attaching means is used.

The form of socket disclosed in Fig. 4 is substantially identical with that previously described, excepting that the socket is intended to be attached to the garment in a different manner. To this end, there are provided upon one of the plates, as plate I9, prongs 32 which are formed integral with the plate and extend downwardly from the periphery of the socket in position to penetrate the fabric of a garment or of a suitable tape, and to be clamped on the other side thereon.

With any of the foregoing constructions, it will be clear that with the socket attached to the garment, the button may be attached and detached at will. Moreover, while attached it will resist any normal pull during use, because it can be released only by rotating it. The detents 23 serve as resilient detents by reason of the resilience of the plates 18 and i9, which yield enough to permit the wings to pass.

Moreover, while we have shown one form of resilient catch, in the detents 23 which are released by turning the button backward, diiferent forms may be employed to hold the wings in the rotated position.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim: A detachable button comprising in combination a button body, a male element comprising outwardly extending wings, a stud portion adapted to lie against the underface of the button and to space the wings from the button and a non-circular pin fitting through a conforming opening in said element and embedded in the body of said button, a socket member comprising a pair of plates having their peripheral surface mating together to maintain said plates in spaced relation to provide a chamber between them, one of the plates having a central opening of a size to fit over the stud portion of said male element and having radial extensions to receive the wings thereof and two pairs of opposite projections extending inwardly from one of the said plates into said chamber toward the opposite plate, the projections being suiiiciently close to said opposite wall of the chamber, resiliently to press the wings against said opposite wall as they pass, and the other set being so close to said opposite wall that said wings do not pass.

ARTHUR DRELL. HERBERT D. DRELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 480,352 Turner Aug. 9, 1892 1,523,009 Folkman Jan. 13, 1925 1,729,489 Rile Sept. 24, 1929 2,162,652 Tinnerman June 13, 1939 2,464,422 Venditty Mar. 15, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,824 Great Britain of 1871 126,545 Great Britain May 15, 1919 

